Mobile network providers face higher equipment costs as the demands for expanded coverage areas and network speeds increase. Customers are not only demanding faster networks, better connectivity and uptime from their network providers; they are also faster data rates and lower costs. All of these increased capacities translate to higher expenses for operators, who must find ways to mitigate the costs by extending equipment lifetimes and eliminating risks associated with damage to the equipment on their cell towers and cell sites. Raycap is a specialized company that engineers, produces and distributes technology that provides lightning protection and connectivity solutions for cell sites.

Increasing network capacities and speeds across 4G and 3G networks is required in order to remain competitive in the mobile provider space. With this comes an increase in equipment density and complexity at cell sites. Because many towers are in remote locations and are oftentimes the tallest thing in the area, they are prime targets for lightning strikes. A lightning strike to a cell tower is easily one of the most expensive prospects for a cellular carrier because it not only can damage and take equipment off line; it creates downtime which can lead to customer churn. This is the very reason why so many of the larger network operators in North America have contracted with Raycap to provide lightning protection and connectivity systems for their distributed base station architectures. The single best method of counteracting lightning and surge damage is to avoid the availability of dangerous levels of electricity from reaching the equipment connected to power supplies. This is achieved through the installation of redundant Strikesorb electrical surge suppression devices in specially engineered solutions along the power supply cable, as well as the installation of shielding structures above the structure itself. Through these installations, the remote radio head, base station unit and ancillary equipment can be shielded from overvoltage surges which are produced by lightning strikes.

The strike to the electrical supply lines or the coupling effect of electricity being introduced into the lines by their connection to a structure which has been struck produces an increased level of electrical flow over and above the regulated levels. When this happens to an unprotected site, the surge will destroy circuitry within the equipment connected to the lines. To mitigate the risks operators deploy specially engineered solutions featuring Raycap’s Strikesorb technology at multiple points along the power supply cables and at connection points in order to receive the increased electrical levels and mitigate the risk to the equipment. This redundant protection system will not only avert the physical damage that a lightning surge produces, but will also keep the regulated flow of electricity in place and keep the system online because Strikesorb is capable of taking multiple redundant lighting surges without failure. By reducing the amounts of time that the network is interrupted, customer retention rates improve and customer satisfaction will be kept high.

Raycap’s lightening protection for cell sites is respected as the industry leading solution and is installed on thousands of towers and cellular sites on rooftops worldwide. Contact Raycap for more information today.